Spirits Of The Western Sky

Justin Hayward is probably one of the most prolific singer/songwriters to come out of the 60's & 70's aside from McCartney & Lennon. He has touched on many different subjects over the years, and really in a variety of ways, through the Moodies, his solo work, Blue Jays, & other projects he's been involved in, and so, anything new from Justin or the Moody Blues is highly anticipated. He has a lot of history to live up to.So, I just got my copy a few hours ago and popped it in my player after it came from Amazon. All I can say at this point is Yummy!Gawd. Between the Justin's incredible voice and his outstanding songwriting skills, and the incredible production with great session musicianship, WOW, This is an excellent CD! Probably the best solo work from Justin since "Forever Autumn", and I have liked all his Solo works so far! How could I go wrong with this purchase, unheard?Well, let me tell you in all honesty, there is not a bad cut on this CD and if we can't have a new Moody Blues LP, we may as well have quality Justin Hayward, instead! On my third listen, now.....I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite song, so far. But, the lead off cut, "In Your Blue Eyes" is Hayward magic in song, once again! It should be released as a single if it hasn't been already! Other favorites on the disc at this point are: "The Eastern Sun", "Broken Dream" "One Day, Someday", "On The Road To Love" (a writing collaboration with Kenny Loggins who provides back up vocals and guitar as well!!), & "Captivated By You". Expertly done. Lush and beautiful!Now, with that being said, here's the nice surprise (especially if you're into Dance Mixes or World Music) there are 2 remixes of the Moody Blues Classic, "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" on this disc. I am not able to tell if these are a new recording of if they actually use the Moody Blues sessions to make them (it's not documented on the CD cover or booklet) but, they are drop dead Awesome! WOW! Who would have thought?!This is a nice mix of tunes on different themes that all seem to string together very nicely to make a complete and wonderful listening experience. If you like the Moody Blues, or Justin Hayward, solo, either way, you're going to love this disc. It's going to be in rotation on my player a lot in the next few months! At least until Justin or the Moodies make an appearance somewhere nearby so I can go experience them live, one more time with feeling!Thanks Justin for a Great New CD! I hope it's as successful as it should be!

Not what I expected...Was hoping for another masterpiece like his previous solo album The View From The Hill back in 1996. However, time has altered my original impressions a bit, and I thought in all fairness I should amend my original comments - and criticisms.I love the first five tracks, especially track 5, On the Road To Love", co-written with Kenny Loggins. It's a great catchy tune with a country flair that reminds me a bit of the Moodies hit Your Wildest Dreams. This is some of Hayward's finest solo material. From there on out though, he switches gears and the album takes a decidedly bluegrass twist, even incorporating two tracks from Moody Bluegrass 2...Much Love, and a new single, What You Resist Persists. The album closes with a TECHNO version of the Moody Blues single I Know You're Out There Somewhere, here titled Out There Somewhere, followed by, in my opinion, a dreadful Raul Rincon remix. This foray into techno, to me, is hard to swallow.I wish there was more Moodies-sounding material here. To me this mix of three musical genres just doesn't work. I really do appreciate Hayward's respect and admiration for American country and bluegrass music though, but I hope he doesn't try techno again. Younger fans will probably like it but I want to hear something that sounds like the front man of the Moody Blues. I give 5 stars to the album anyway, in spite of the aforementioned comments.I hope that when the Moodies celebrate 50 years together next year that they will reunite for an album along with founding members Mike Pinder and Ray Thomas. They were on Moody Bluegrass 2, so maybe there's hope. We're just the singers in a rock n' roll band.

Mr. Hayward has never lost contact with his muses. Unlike many other icons that I revere, his creative, lyrical and musical powers have not diminished with time; his voice is still silky and strong. Justin's predilection for "nature scape" imagery in his lyrics, and the haunting melodies are never boring. These lifelong talents are evident in this album. I had the privilege of attending his performance at the Music Hall, NYC. This soft-spoken, distinguished English gentleman and consummate performer never disappoints. JH and MB have had such an impact on me, I named my 27 year-old son " Justin" (This was before learning decades later that JH's first name is actually "David".) One of my brothers called me after enjoying several glasses of wine and having listened to Track 3; he said this experience made him cry. When the opportunity presented itself to me at home, I opened a bottle of wine, played the album - the emotional impact: goose bumps and tears. There are icons, and there are icons...

A long-awaited collection of beautiful songs of love and loss from the supremely talented Moody Blues frontman. At 66, he still has the voice of an angel and a seemingly inexhaustible fund of wonderful melodies - 'Lazy Afternoon' is particularly delightful. He's no slouch on the guitar either. As well as the new material there are interesting reworkings of some older songs and Anne Dudley's string arrangements are very fine indeed.

As one reviewer has said, can you believe this voice in a guy who is 66 years old? It's incredible. I haven't even come to the end of this wonderful CD yet I feel propelled towards my computer to post a review. This is an amazing CD, well worth the money. Am seeing The Moody Blues in concert on 5th June and hope he will play some of these songs. I just feel transported to a different world, filled with optimism and beauty! Hope he does another one soon. If you haven't seen it, watch his recent interview video on YouTube. It isn't fair for one man to have so much talent!

I have been enjoying the works of Justin since the days of 'In Search of the Lost Chord' back in the sixties. This is a classic. The brilliant second track 'One Day, Some Day' stopped me in my tracks with it's strings arrangment right from the first time I heard it. However much to my amazement, an even better arrangement of the same song, slightly longer with more prominent accoustics and percussion is featured later. This is easily one of my all time favourites. Us Moodies fans will know " I Know You're Out There Somewhere", An upbeat disco version appears at the end of this CD in an extended form - great fun. We walked down the aisle at our recent wedding to the original version. That was after signing the register to New Horizons" My much younger bride thinks it's brilliant. Some of the tracks in the middle take some getting into but there are fifteen in total. I went to see the Moodies for an eighteen birthday treat - I am going to see them later this year as a sixtieth bithday treat. Now that's what I call longivety (them not me) This is quality - I would definitely recommend it.

There's very little that Justin Hayward has produced over the past 46 years that I haven't liked....until now. The View From The Hill was his best solo album to date, though sadly only available on inferior formats like CD. So on playing this double album for the first time, my impressions were very favourable. Until I played Side 4 that is. The 2 versions of Out There Somwhere should really have been left out there somewhere else. The second one certainly doesn't belong here!The final track in particular is, for me, awful! Now saying that about any of Justin's considerable output really is a first. Although it was someone else who destroyed the song (Paul Rincon). I think that had the best stuff been taken and a single album issued, the overall quality would have been much improved. Still some very worthwhile and typical JH songs make the album a must for his fans and for MB fans too. Overall, a thumbs up, but why oh why do these remixes in a style that just isn't JH.

This is, in the main, what we've come to expect from Justin Hayward (whether solo or with the Moody Blues), an immaculately crafted great listen, with a warmth and depth to the music you don't hear often enough.I've been playing the single "In Your Blue Eyes" for a few weeks on my show on Big L Radio (loved it from the first play) and it's got positive listener response. So I was glad when I got the album, that it lived up to the promise of the single - until the last two tracks.Have to say, these last two tracks stuck out like a sore thumb, from what is otherwise a superb album. They are two imho dreadful club remixes of re-recordings of the classic Moody Blues track "I Know You're out There Somewhere". Goodness know what all involved were thinking!In all other respects though a very worthy addition to your album collection.